Whale oil was used in automobile transmissions as late as 1973.
56
The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.
210
Henry Ford produced the model T only in black because the black paint available at the time was the fastest to dry.
33
Castor oil is used as a lubricant in jet planes.
-5
All GPS units sold in the civilian market have to be programmed to deactivate themselves if they detect they are travelling faster than 1200 MPH or are above 60,000 feet in altitude to prevent them being used in intercontinental ballistic missiles.
2
Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have expressed their desire to see the search engine become artificial intelligence itself. To achieve that goal, they created the highly-protected “X lab.”
-7
A fully loaded supertanker traveling at normal speed takes a least twenty minutes to stop.
27
The United States produces enough plastic film annually to cover the entire state of Texas.
13